I
sat, with two friends,
in the picture window
of a quaint restaurant
just off the corner
of the town-square.
The food and the company
were both especially
good that day.
As
we talked, my attention
was drawn outside, across
the street. There, walking
into town, was a man
who appeared to be carrying
all his worldly goods
on his back. He was
carrying, a well-worn
sign that read, 'I will
work for food.' My heart
sank.
I
brought him to the attention
of my friends and noticed
that others around us
had stopped eating to
focus on him. Heads
moved in a mixture of
sadness and disbelief.
We
continued with our meal,
but his image lingered
in my mind. We finished
our meal and went our
separate ways. I had
errands to do and quickly
set out to accomplish
them. I glanced toward
the town square, looking
somewhat halfheartedly
for the strange visitor.
I was fearful, knowing
that seeing him again
would call some response.
I drove through town
and saw nothing of him.
I made some purchases
at a store and got back
in my car.
Deep
within me, the Spirit
of God kept speaking
to me: 'Don't go back
to the office until
you've at least driven
once more around the
square.'
Then
with some hesitancy,
I headed back into town.
As I turned the square's
third corner, I saw
him. He was standing
on the steps of the
store front church,
going through his sack.
I
stopped and looked;
feeling both compelled
to speak to him, yet
wanting to drive on.
The empty parking space
on the corner seemed
to be a sign from God:
an invitation to park.
I pulled in, got out
and approached the town's
newest visitor.
'Looking
for the pastor?' I asked.
'Not
really,' he replied,
'just resting.'
'Have
you eaten today?'
'Oh,
I ate something early
this morning.'
'Would
you like to have lunch
with me?'
'Do
you have some work I
could do for you?'
'No
work,' I replied. 'I
commute here to work
from the city, but I
would like to take you
to lunch.'
'Sure,'
he replied with a smile.
As
he began to gather his
things, I asked some
surface questions. Where
you headed?'
'
St. Louis .'
'Where
you from?'
'Oh,
all over; mostly Florida
.'
'How
long you been walking?'
'Fourteen
years,' came the reply.
I
knew I had met someone
unusual. We sat across
from each other in the
same restaurant I had
left earlier. His face
was weathered slightly
beyond his 38 years.
His eyes were dark yet
clear, and he spoke
with an eloquence and
articulation that was
startling. He removed
his jacket to reveal
a bright red T-shirt
that said, 'Jesus is
The Never Ending Story.'
Then
Daniel's story began
to unfold. He had seen
rough times early in
life. He'd made some
wrong choices and reaped
the consequences. Fourteen
years earlier, while
backpacking across the
country, he had stopped
on the beach in Daytona.
He tried to hire on
with some men who were
putting up a large tent
and some equipment.
A concert, he thought.
He
was hired, but the tent
would not house a concert
but revival services,
and in those services
he saw life more clearly.
He gave his life over
to God
'Nothing's
been the same since,'
he said, 'I felt the
Lord telling me to keep
walking, and so I did,
some 14 years now.'
'Ever
think of stopping?'
I asked.
'Oh,
once in a while, when
it seems to get the
best of me But God has
given me this calling.
I give out Bibles. That's
what's in my sack. I
work to buy food and
Bibles, and I give them
out when His Spirit
leads.'
I
sat amazed. My homeless
friend was not homeless.
He was on a mission
and lived this way by
choice. The question
burned inside for a
moment and then I asked:
'What's it like?'
'What?'
'To
walk into a town carrying
all your things on your
back and to show your
sign?'
'Oh,
it was humiliating at
first. People would
stare and make comments.
Once someone tossed
a piece of half-eaten
bread and made a gesture
that certainly didn't
make me feel welcome.
But then it became humbling
to realize that God
was using me to touch
lives and change people's
concepts of other folks
like me.'
My
concept was changing,
too. We finished our
dessert and gathered
his things. Just outside
the door, he paused.
He turned to me and
said, 'Come Ye blessed
of my Father and inherit
the kingdom I've prepared
for you. For when I
was hungry you gave
me food, when I was
thirsty you gave me
drink, a stranger and
you took me in.'
I
felt as if we were on
holy ground. 'Could
you use another Bible?'
I asked.
He
said he preferred a
certain translation.
It traveled well and
was not too heavy. It
was also his personal
favorite. 'I've read
through it 14 times,'
he said.
'I'm
not sure we've got one
of those, but let's
stop by our church and
see' I was able to find
my new friend a Bible
that would do well,
and he seemed very grateful.
'Where
are you headed from
here?' I asked.
'Well,
I found this little
map on the back of this
amusement park coupon.'
'Are
you hoping to hire on
there for awhile?'
'No,
I just figure I should
go there. I figure someone
under that star right
there needs a Bible,
so that's where I'm
going next.'
He
smiled, and the warmth
of his spirit radiated
the sincerity of his
mission. I drove him
back to the town-square
where we'd met two hours
earlier, and as we drove,
it started raining.
We parked and unloaded
his things.
'Would
you sign my autograph
book?' he asked. 'I
like to keep messages
from folks I meet.'
I
wrote in his little
book that his commitment
to his calling had touched
my life. I encouraged
him to stay strong.
And I left him with
a verse of scripture
from Jeremiah, 'I know
the plans I have for
you, declared the Lord,
'plans to prosper you
and not to harm you;
Plans to give you a
future and a hope.'
'Thanks,
man,' he said. 'I know
we just met and we're
really just strangers,
but I love you.'
'I
know,' I said, 'I love
you, too.' 'The Lord
is good!'
'Yes,
He is. How long has
it been since someone
hugged you?' I asked.
'A
long time,' he replied
And
so on the busy street
corner in the drizzling
rain, my new friend
and I embraced, and
I felt deep inside that
I had been changed.
He put his things on
his back, smiled his
winning smile and said,
'See you in the New
Jerusalem.'
'I'll
be there!' was my reply.
He
began his journey again.
He headed away with
his sign dangling from
his bedroll and pack
of Bibles. He stopped,
turned and said, 'When
you see something that
makes you think of me,
will you pray for me?'
'You
bet,' I shouted back,
'God bless.'
'God
bless.' And that was
the last I saw of him.
Late
that evening as I left
my office, the wind
blew strong. The cold
front had settled hard
upon the town. I bundled
up and hurried to my
car. As I sat back and
reached for the emergency
brake, I saw them...
a pair of well-worn
brown work gloves neatly
laid over the length
of the handle. I picked
them up and thought
of my friend and wondered
if his hands would stay
warm that night without
them.
Then
I remembered his words:
'If you see something
that makes you think
of me, will you pray
for me?'
Today
his gloves lie on my
desk in my office. They
help me to see the world
and its people in a
new way, and they help
me remember those two
hours with my unique
friend and to pray for
his ministry. 'See you
in the New Jerusalem,'
he said. Yes, Daniel,
I know I will...
If
this story touched you,
forward it to a friend!
'I
shall pass this way
but once.
Therefore, any good
that I can do or any
kindness that I can
show,
let me do it now, for
I shall not pass this
way again.'
'Father, I ask you to
bless my friends, relatives
and e-mail buddies reading
this right now.
Show them a new revelation
of your love and power.
Holy Spirit, I ask you
to minister to their
spirit at this very
moment.
Where there is pain,
give them your peace
and mercy.
Where there is self-doubt,
release a renewed confidence
through your grace,
In Jesus' precious Name
Amen.'
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